The Last Day
by MariaClaire
Summary: Jason Grace has been braced for a mythological storm to mess up his life since he heard the Sibyl's words. When it finally strikes, will he be able to face the challenges that arise? Can he find the strength to be the hero one last time?


*****A/N: Happy **_**Tyrant's Tomb **_**release day! Looking forward to finding out what happens next in the series! I've had this story in the works since **_**The Burning Maze **_**came out, but finally finished it after re-reading the book last week. ****This story includes spoilers for **_**The Burning Maze**_**. I hope the narrative doesn't come across as out-of-character, but Jason strikes me as an introspective guy. It also seemed like he still very much cared about Piper. Basically this is just some Jason appreciation before we hopefully get to see his other friends' reactions and his funeral in the new book. Hope you enjoy the story!*****

* * *

JASON:

The nightmare gripped him, as it had for the last two weeks, ever since he and Piper made the mistake of venturing into the Labyrinth. Even in a dream, he could feel the heat. Sweat trickled down his back. His worn-out Camp Jupiter t-shirt was nearly soaked through and he'd only been down here a few minutes. However, the Sibyl had given him a lot of both useful and confusing information about where to find the emperor and about the task Apollo would face, even though Jason had to figure it out through a number of crossword puzzle clues and incomplete sentences. Then she delivered the worst blow of all.

In her rasping voice (probably a result of the ash and smoke in the room), the Sibyl said, "But if you and the daughter of Aphrodite, heroes of the Prophecy of Seven, go after the emperor, it will not end well. If you seek out the emperor, one of you will…" she gagged, as if trying to swallow a burning coal, then said, "three letters, starts with D."

Electricity crackled in the air, and Jason realized he was throwing sparks. "Die? Are you saying that if Piper and I go after this emperor, one of us will die?"

The Sibyl's eyes were ancient, full of pain, and, right now, pitying. "I am sorry. I would spare you if I could. I would spare _her_. But I cannot. Tell Apollo he must come. Only he can release me, though it is a…" She choked again. "Four letters. Starts with T."

Jason woke with a gasp. It took him a minute to realize he was in his own bed in his dorm room at Edgarton. He was sweaty, though, as if he _had _just revisited the Oracle's prison. Without his glasses on, the old clock radio on his nightstand was blurry, but he was pretty sure it said 2:43am. Kicking the covers aside, he stumbled to the window and leaned against the sill. A gust of cool night air blew in from the canyons, soothing him. He had a brief flash of diving into the Grand Canyon and catching Piper the day they met, when she was thrown off the skywalk, then shook his head. _Don't do that to yourself, man. Not tonight. You've got enough other problems._

That was the truth. Of course, Piper was tied into most of those problems too. The Labyrinth, this business with mortal Apollo and the emperor, the Sibyl's prophecy. Jason's knuckles turned white as he gripped the windowsill. He wondered how much longer he had until Apollo came looking for him, with this Meg (whoever that was) the Sibyl had mentioned. _Just another week_, he begged the empty air. Then Piper would be gone. She'd be safe. That was all, or almost all, he wanted.

He should have known better. He never got what he wanted.

Still buzzing with nervous energy, Jason sat down on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, fists pressed against his eyes. _Stupid prophecy_, he thought. He wished he could convince himself the Oracle's words meant anything other than the obvious. But he didn't want to fool himself. This had happened before. _To storm or fire the world must fall_. Either him or Leo. And that time, Jason had let his friend take the fall. Even with the physician's cure, even after the holographic scroll message, Jason had a hard time believing Leo was still alive. Not after all this time. It was harder to keep hoping now, too, since Piper had distanced herself.

Not that they were all _that _distant. They'd broken up a couple of months ago, true, but this past two weeks had been the longest they'd gone without talking since then. Since they'd known each other, really. They might not be together, and things might be weird, but they were still friends. They were still partners in battle. Plus, neither of them had that many good mortal friends. And with all the communications issues lately, they'd been pretty well cut off from their demigod friends in New York and San Francisco since New Year's. Which sucked because he wouldn't have minded talking to Percy or Frank or Nico. He didn't think any of them even knew about the break-up, unless Piper had somehow been in contact with Annabeth and Hazel. But he doubted it; she would have told him.

_Would she_? he wondered now. _It's not like I'm not keeping things from her._ Life or death things, true, but still.

_If you seek out the emperor, one of you will…three letter word, starts with D._

Sitting there in his dorm in the middle of the night, Jason had never felt more alone.

* * *

Fortunately, he managed to get a couple more hours of mercifully dreamless sleep before his alarm went off. First, second, and third period went by normally enough, but today, Jason felt on edge, like a storm front was building and he was waiting for it to hit. He thought maybe this was just because he was becoming convinced his second period Humanities teacher was an empousa. But when fourth period rolled around, he realized that, once again, he'd been trying to deny the truth. Something bigger than a single monster was about to hit.

Jason was half-listening to the reading of _Julius Caesar_, half-thinking about a conversation he and Reyna had a few years ago about the merits of the first Caesar_, _and wondering whether he could work any of that discussion into the inevitable essay he would have to write on the play, when the classroom door opened.

Jason wasn't totally surprised to see Piper in the doorway. She'd broken him out of class more than once, usually to deal with Labyrinth stuff, though this _was_ the first time she'd gotten him out of fourth period—for some reason it was usually third or sixth. His heart still skipped a couple of beats when he saw her, which was painful and annoying. He started gathering up his stuff while she sweetly explained to his surprised teacher that Jason was wanted right away in the office. A few of the guys were eyeing her in a way that made Jason very uncharacteristically want to growl or give them a good zap, but he restrained himself. She wasn't his girlfriend anymore; he had no right to get mad at other guys for looking.

He shut the classroom door and joined Piper in the hallway. She was accompanied by two other kids he didn't know, but his attention was initially focused on her. When he met her eyes, his heart and stomach did a weird dance that he tried to ignore. They'd been together for about a year, so her beauty shouldn't have caught him by surprise, but after two weeks apart, he'd forgotten just how good she looked. Even now, in beat-up clothes, with singed hair, and some new scars—wait, were those recovering burn marks? _Damn it_, Jason realized, _she went back into the maze_. Without him. Still, considering the secret he was keeping, how could he be too mad?

But if she'd been in the maze, then that must mean these other two were…ah.

It was time.

All this flashed through Jason's mind in the span of about two seconds. Once again, it was time to act more calm and confident than he felt. Forcing a smile that he hoped looked mostly natural, he said, "Piper. Hey."

"Hey, yourself," she replied in a voice that was as falsely casual as his own. Looking away, she gestured to the other two kids, a girl of about twelve with dark hair, who was wearing weirdly bright blue camoflauge, and a boy about sixteen with curly hair and ancient eyes. "This is—"

Jason's stomach released his heart so it could sink into his shoes. "Meg McCaffrey. And Apollo. I've been waiting for you guys."

The girl, Meg, gave Jason a scrutinizing look he found vaguely unsettling. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Jason looked around. Classes would be letting out in ten minutes and he was way closer to his humanities teacher's door than he'd like to be. "Let's go back to my dorm room. We're not safe out here."

Thanks to Piper's charmspeak, they made it to his dorm room, but Piper stopped in the doorway so abruptly that Jason nearly ran into her. "Define _not safe_."

Jason glanced up and down the hallway. Looking for monsters was easier than looking at his ex-girlfriend as he explained about the potential situation with his humanities teacher and what had happened with his AP Calculus teacher. Apparently this answer was acceptable, since the other three followed him into his room.

He couldn't fail to notice that Piper opted to sit on the tile floor, as far away from him as possible. He was tempted to tell her she didn't have to, but it wasn't worth a fight. Instead, he focused on Apollo, or formerly Apollo, who started off by saying, "Your sister says hello, by the way."

"You saw her?" If Thalia was safe, that was the best news Jason had heard in a while. He listened intently as Apollo explained about his experiences in Indianapolis battling Commodus, then backed up to his adventures at Camp Half-Blood in January, which included battling a giant bronze statue and wrecking Percy's family car on the drive to camp. Which, honestly, just sounded like Jackson's _modus operandi_. Back in August, Percy and Jason had taken the camp's SUV to buy it a new battery, and then, being demigods, one thing led to another. To be fair, when they returned to camp, the SUV _did _have a brand new battery. But the rest of it was in slightly worse shape than when they'd left. Jason still remembered Nyssa Barrera and Jake Mason exchanging very tired looks when Percy guiltily handed over the keys.

Apollo was still speaking. "Anyway, after we survived the disaster that was Indianapolis, Leo Valdez volunteered to fly to Camp Jupiter and warn them—"

Jason's head shot up. Electricity sizzled down his arms and his outlets sparked. _Leo's alive?_ Jason couldn't even form the words. He stared at Piper, wanting her to confirm what he'd just heard.

She gave him a faint smile that was tinged with affectionate irritation. "I know. After all we went through."

Jason dropped onto the bed, relief washing over him as a massive weight evaporated from his chest. "I don't know whether to laugh or yell."

"Don't limit yourself," Piper offered. "Do both."

Before Jason could decide what to do, or interpret her tone, Meg interrupted by asking about his temple designs. He explained as best he could, mind still racing with everything he'd just heard about the emperors, the oracles, _Leo_, Thalia, and Camp Half-Blood…it was a lot to process. And yet somehow it all made sense, like he'd been putting together a puzzle for months and was finally finding pieces to fill in the gaps.

_I would spare you if I could. I would spare _her_. But I cannot_.

When Piper stated that the reason they had come to his school was because of the Burning Maze, Jason knew his time was up.

As he explained most of what had happened with the Sibyl, he purposely avoided looking at Piper. She knew him too well. If he met her eyes, she would see immediately that he was hiding something. But the truth was too hard.

He recalled one of the rare serious conversations he'd had with the other guys on the _Argo II_. The girls had been holed up in Piper's room, where they liked to hang out, so it was just the four boys hanging around the helm, initially talking about video games and fighting techniques while Leo tinkered with the Archimedes sphere. But somehow that had morphed into talking about how it could be challenging, sometimes, to date a tough girl who was fully capable of fighting her own battles when all you wanted to do as her boyfriend was protect her. It seemed to apply equally well to Piper, Hazel, Annabeth, and Calypso. If Jason remembered correctly, between the four of them (Leo, Percy, Frank, and himself) they hadn't managed to come up with much beyond _Be there when you can, step back if you have to_.

Before they'd gone to Ithaca, Percy had pulled Jason aside and asked him to keep an eye on Annabeth. Then, outside Athens, as Piper, Annabeth, and Percy prepared to follow the snake people through the tunnels to the Parthenon, Jason had approached Percy, nodded to Piper, and quietly said, "Want to return the favor?" Percy had agreed, squeezing his shoulder. And Jason knew it wasn't because either of them doubted their girlfriends' capabilities. After all, look what Piper and Annabeth had accomplished in Sparta. But the instinct to protect the people you loved was an inherent part of being a hero.

_I would spare you if I could. I would spare _her_._

That was all Jason wanted. To spare Piper.

Which he eventually managed to explain to Apollo, once the girls left the room to get him out of school and the former Olympian confronted him about what he was holding back regarding his conversation with the Sibyl. But Apollo was right. Piper deserved to know the truth.

Understandably, when he explained what he'd been holding back, Piper was not happy. She _did _restrain herself from yelling at him, which Jason knew was largely due to the fact that Meg and Apollo were in the van with them. But she admitted that, "In your position, I might have done the same thing. I wouldn't want you to die either."

So that was something. He also felt slightly better, after they'd speculated on whether Caligula's boat would be at the wharf, when she tried to lighten the tone by saying, "It better be. Otherwise I stole this van and got you out of your afternoon physics lecture for nothing."

"Darn," Jason said. He met her slight smile with one of his own and knew they were back on the same page. His heart twisted. Gods, he'd missed her over the last two weeks. Not even as his girlfriend, though he missed that too, but just as his friend. He'd simply missed talking to her. At least they had this opportunity to spend a little more time together.

The rest of the drive into Santa Barbara was mostly quiet. Jason occupied himself by looking out the window and thinking about the fact that Leo was alive. Despite the very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about their mission today, he was holding out hope that he'd get to see his best friend again. They had a lot to catch up on. Possibly while playing idiot mode video games.

The afternoon spent wandering Santa Barbara's beaches was surprisingly relaxing. And dinner was delicious. Jason should have known it was all too good to last. He made the mistake of thinking, _Maybe it won't be tonight after all_. And then the emperor's fleet of yachts appeared and resignation dropped like a bowling ball into his stomach.

Getting to the ships turned out to be easier than he'd expected. Like in his dormitory, this was pretty much entirely due to Piper and her charmspeak. Jason watched in amazement as she cajoled the three men into laying down their weapons and armor in favor of grabbing a dinner of fish tacos. Sure, she'd always been good, ever since their first quest last December, but now he was impressed again with just how powerful she'd become. It was stunning.

And exhausting, apparently, because as soon as the guards departed, Piper stumbled and collapsed against Jason. His heart leapt when he caught her, which was again annoying. But it was the first time he'd held her in a long time, even if it was only briefly.

The guards' Kevlar felt a lot heavier and more uncomfortable than his usual Imperial gold or Celestial bronze armor. Maybe his body was just more naturally attuned to ancient styles. Still, it was worth putting on for some small protection. He offered to split his gear with Piper, but she refused, pointing out that she had the best chance of bluffing her way through, which would probably work best if she looked innocent. She was right, but he still felt uneasy at the idea of her being so exposed before they went into combat. But what else was new? How many fights had they been forced into with even less armor and weapons? Too many.

Not that any of it mattered once they got on the ship. He and Piper were overpowered in moments when they landed on the deck. Which was, frankly, a little humiliating, given everything else they'd survived. It also sent a frisson of nerves crackling through his body.

_One of you will…three letter word, begins with D_.

Tonight, he was terrified they were finally going to face a fight they couldn't win.

He felt slightly better when they managed to take out the pandai guards, courtesy of Meg McCaffrey. Who, in a brilliant strategic move worthy of Annabeth or Frank, managed to extract the location of both the emperor and his shoes from the guards before destroying them. Jason was starting to really like this kid.

Especially when she leapt out the broken window in pursuit of more enemies. Before following her, Jason looked at Piper and Apollo one last time. Well, mostly at Piper. Hopefully, going after the shoes would be safer than going after the emperor. And hopefully it wouldn't actually be the last time he saw her. "You two be careful."

Then he leapt out the window after Meg, only to find she was already in the process of engaging several mercenaries on the deck below. The men opened fire on her, but she simply cartwheeled through the bullets as a spray of zinnias exploded into the air, distracting the mercenaries. This gave Jason cover to swoop in behind them. He quickly disabled two with well-placed sword hilt strikes to the cranium. A third turned quickly, but Jason kicked him in the chest and the man tumbled over the side of the ship. The fourth pointed his gun at Jason, but Meg shouted, "Nuh-uh," and kicked the man in the crotch. He doubled over, clutching his groin. Jason felt a brief pang of sympathy. Then he kicked the man's gun down the yacht stairs and repeated his hilt-to-the-head maneuver. He was, after all, an expert on being knocked out.

"Nice job," he told Meg.

"Yep," she replied. Her golden scimitars flashed as she pointed at the nearby ramp. "Next boat."

They moved on to the next boat. And the next. And the next. Jason nearly destroyed _Julia Drusilla XX _with lightning, which left him drained, but Meg covered him while he recovered during their run across boats nineteen to seventeen. Several more guys may have gotten kicked in the crotch at that point.

All in all, Jason felt they were doing pretty well. He'd been enjoying the relative quiet of school, with the exception of the occasional monster teacher attack or foray into the burning maze, but he'd forgotten the thrill of combat. It was probably an engrained demigod thing, or maybe a remnant of his years at Camp Jupiter, but there was a part of him that savored the spike of adrenaline in his veins and the thrill of defeating his enemies. As much as he liked being a normal high school student for once, getting an A on a physics test just didn't give him quite the same rush as sending a monster back to Tartarus.

They were very nearly overpowered on _Julia Drusilla XIV_ because both of them were getting tired at this point. It crossed Jason's mind to wonder how Piper and Apollo were doing, but most of his focus was on the approaching monsters and mercenaries. His sweaty hands gripped his sword as he did a quick head count. Too many.

Or at least, it would have been. Except he hadn't properly accounted for Meg McCaffrey.

As their leering enemies approached, Meg sheathed her scimitars, which shrank back into rings around her fingers. Dang, Jason really missed his gold coin sword/lance. Weapons you could fit in your pocket were so much easier to carry around. Except he really wasn't sure why the girl was sheathing her swords now. Did she intend to surrender? That seemed to go against everything he'd seen since he'd met her earlier today.

"Uh, Meg—"

Ignoring him, she reached into her gardening belt and withdrew two packets of seeds. With a yell, she flung them into the air in opposite directions. The packets burst open. Like a nature documentary set to high speed, plants blasted forth from the seeds. Within seconds, a thick jungle of ivy filled the yacht. Enemies screamed as it consumed them, pinning them against the walls, tangling them against the furniture and each other. There was no longer a threat on boat fourteen.

"Wow," Jason managed.

"Boston ivy," Meg said. She swayed and Jason caught her. He noticed with alarm that her face was pasty, beads of sweat dotting her forehead. Like his lightning, her plant magic had to be draining. Which wasn't great, considering they were now only two boats down from the emperor's.

"Stay with me, kid," Jason muttered. "We've got to keep them distracted. For Apollo and Piper."

"'Kay." Meg sagged against him, but she also drew one of her scimitars. Jason truly admired her resilience as they crossed to the next boat.

Where, naturally, their luck ran out. It _was _the _Julia Drusilla XIII_ after all. Not-so-lucky number thirteen. And this time, there weren't hordes of enemies waiting to stop them. There was only one. But she didn't exactly need back-up.

"Medea," Jason growled.

"Jason." The sorceress said his name like a hiss even through her smile. She stood in the center of the deck, her arms crossed, as if she'd been waiting there for them all night. For all Jason knew, she had. Rage burned in Medea's eyes as she fixed them on Jason, but she kept the creepy smile on her face. "So good to see you again. Did you enjoy the visit to the Sibyl? I arranged that for you, of course."

Jason gritted his teeth. He tightened his grip on Meg, who was still struggling to stay on her feet, her lone scimitar dipping. Exhaustion was creeping through his own body, but Jason raised his _gladius_. He decided to take a page from the daughter of Demeter's playbook and keep his response short and simple. "I'm going to kill you."

Medea had the nerve to laugh. "Oh, but you're not. I do enjoy the bravado, though." Her eyes locked on something behind his shoulder and Jason realized too late how fatigue had led him to make a mistake. "Now."

Something heavy connected with his skull. The last thing Jason saw was the floor rushing up to meet his face.

* * *

He came to because of the pain. Sharp little needling pains all over his body, like tiny bugs repeatedly biting his skin. Jason blinked several times to clear the fog from his eyes. When it didn't totally go away, he realized it was because he was surrounded in fog. Actually, he was surrounded by a funnel cloud. A _ventus_. It was hard to see through its whipping winds. Jason focused, fighting to take control of the wind, but it resisted him. A much more powerful force held the _ventus _in its grip.

It took him several more disoriented moments to realize that the stinging pains he was experiencing were because of the pieces of Celestial bronze and Imperial gold shrapnel laced throughout the tornado, slowly shredding his skin. A slow, painful, and unnecessarily complicated death.

"_Medea_," he growled again, because the plan reeked of the sorceress, but it was hard to hear his own voice. It vibrated strangely through the _ventus_, reminding him of the time he'd ridden a wind spirit to the bottom of the Aegean to help Percy Jackson battle Kymopoleia and Polybotes.

Kymopoleia. His designs. Jason shook his head. _Focus_. He forced himself back to the present to take in his surroundings, ignoring the increasingly painful stabs as best he could.

The throne room was hideous. So was the emperor, mostly due to the psychotic smile dancing across his face. But the worst sight was just now trotting into the room. A massive white stallion picked his way majestically across the floor. When he recognized the people on the horse's back, Jason yelled, but his voice was sucked away by the wind as the horse knelt, spilling Apollo and Piper onto the floor at the emperor's feet.

Apollo didn't seem too much worse off than when they'd parted, but Piper was unconscious. Blood trickled from her nose. She lay limp and still on the floor. Jason's heart shuddered to a stop. _One of you will…three letter word, begins with D_.

No. Please no.

"Pipes!" He screamed her name, but no sound escaped the _ventus_. Jason threw his willpower against the spirit's, but it didn't waver. The wind was completely out of his control. Caligula approached Piper, and Jason fought harder. It didn't matter. He was forced to watch helplessly as two guards stepped forward and hauled her to her feet, her head lolling. One uncapped a bottle and passed it under her nose.

When Piper's head shot up and her eyes opened, Jason's heart finally started to beat again. Relief whooshed through him so fast he felt light-headed. She was alive. She was still alive.

Piper's eyes drifted around the room, taking in her surroundings. For the first time, Jason noticed that Meg was also trapped in a similar wind tunnel. Fury rose like bile in his throat. Then Piper's eyes met his, for a split second, and he saw the same fury in her face. She glared at Caligula. Her fingers fumbled for her knife, but they were shaky, like she'd taken a hit to the head. She shouted something at the emperor, though Jason couldn't hear what.

The emperor chuckled at her as if she was simply amusing, not the fierce warrior and dangerous demigod Jason knew she'd proven herself to be. Then Caligula turned his attention on Apollo. While the two ancient powers exchanged words, with Medea occasionally butting in, Jason focused on fighting the winds. Piper met his eyes again, asking a dozen silent questions, which Jason answered as best he could. He held his arms out, pressing against the winds, but it was like sticking his arm out of the car while going eighty on the freeway. The resistance that usually bent to his will now pushed back, forcefully.

Jason wasn't sure why the pandai got dragged away. He didn't want to know. He gritted his teeth at the way the emperor looked at Piper, then did his best to ignore the sneering look Caligula leveled at him. As the emperor turned to Meg, Jason locked eyes with Piper once more. This time, he wasn't totally sure what all they were saying to each other but he knew, with a sinking feeling, that the look included two things for sure. _I love you_—however they wanted to interpret it. And _good-bye_.

Piper turned her focus back to the confrontation in the throne room. Jason still couldn't hear, but he recognized the slight shift of her shoulders, that extra bit of confidence that came when she used charmspeak. There was a very short conversation between her and Medea. The horse shifted uncertainly.

Then Caligula strode forward and backhanded Piper across the face.

_No_.

Piper dropped to the ground. The emperor smiled smugly.

Blood roared in Jason's ears.

_Not my girl. You will never lay another hand on my girl_.

Rage blazed in Jason's chest. He gave himself over to the fire. Closing his eyes, he let it sweep through his body, smothering his fears, his uncertainties, his doubts. Anger gave him focus.

An old _Argo II _memory flashed through his mind. He recalled Percy telling him about being trapped in the Georgia Aquarium, how he'd used his anger to finally bend the water to his will. How he'd refused to let Phorcys imprison him in his father's element, where he should be strongest.

Jason grew still. There wasn't much time. He summoned every last ounce of his willpower. He was the son of Jupiter, lord of the sky. He had restrained the primordial earth goddess, Gaea herself. Medea's power was strong, but not even a sorceress could imprison him for long in his own father's element. Jason controlled the winds. They would bow to his will.

This time, when he reached out, the _ventus_ gave, just a fraction. Maybe Medea was distracted and her power was weakening. Or maybe it was simply because Jason had realized something the sorceress didn't fully understand. _Venti _weren't meant to be restrained. They were storm spirits, born from the furious power of Typhon. Rage and destruction were their natural state. Right now, Jason shared that sentiment. If he worked with the _ventus_, instead of against it, he could harness that power.

When Jason shared their singular purpose, the spirits in the cages responded. _Protect my friends_, Jason thought. _Destroy everything else_.

Drawing on his deepest reserves of strength, Jason thrust out his arms.

The tearing howl of the wind nearly shredded the boat into pieces. Through sheer force of will, Jason directed the winds away from Piper and Apollo. Despite his best efforts, Meg was flung from the ship, but a pandos swooped after her, the one who'd been dragged in with his hands bound, so Jason hoped she would be okay. He couldn't help her at the moment. His focus had to be here. Jason drew his sword as he stepped through the wreckage to face Caligula.

"You're one of those Camp Jupiter brats, aren't you?" the emperor said. His face was furious, but the snarl meant nothing to Jason. It was a familiar expression on his enemies' faces.

"I'm Jason Grace. Former praetor of the Twelfth Legion. Son of Jupiter. Child of Rome. But I belong to both camps." Harnessing the winds had left him drained, but he drew strength from his words and what they represented. Like his friends at both camps.

Caligula shouted something about Camp Jupiter's treason, but Jason didn't listen. He couldn't spare the energy as he charged into battle against the emperor.

The rest was a blur. Meg never reappeared, which terrified him. He prayed she was okay. Jason recalled seeing Piper shove Medea into the water out of the corner of his eye. Her face was covered in blood, which just sent another surge of rage through his tired body. He yelled at Piper and Apollo to go. He doubted he would leave this boat alive, but he desperately needed his friends to escape. If one of them was destined to die, he would _not _let it be Piper.

Tempest came to his call, luckily, helping Jason match Caligula's strength and speed. Arrows pierced his arms and legs, but with so much adrenaline racing through his system, Jason barely registered the pain. He was a former praetor of Rome. He had defeated the Titan Koios. He had sailed to the ancient lands aboard the _Argo II _and defeated the earth mother. These wounds would not stop him.

Tempest, because he was awesome, scorched the emperor's horse with some well-placed lightning. Jason took the brief opportunity to let his gaze find Piper's one final time. Then he met Apollo's horrified, frightened eyes. "GO! Remember!"

He lost focus a split second too long.

The arrow wounds would not stop him.

The spear through his back, however…

Pain flared in his chest. His insides burned. A gasp escaped his lips. He heard Piper's scream even over the other chaos.

She was still here.

The edges of Jason's vision were already going black. His head spun. The tips of his fingers grew cold as, like on Ithaca, all the blood rushed to his core. But this time, he knew, there would be no magical self-cure.

_One of you will_…_three letter word, begins with D._

_ Die._

He slumped against Tempest's neck. "Save them. Take them somewhere safe. Please, buddy."

Tempest wickered, sorrowful. Jason patted his neck, then let the strength drain from his limbs. He toppled off the horse, barely noticing the jarring crash as he hit the throne room floor. Shouts and yells echoed around the room, but they were all meaningless noise.

Jason drew in a painful breath. Hazel's face flashed across his mind. She had died before. The thought was strangely comforting. His sister Thalia had, too, sort of. He imagined Thalia's face with sharp clarity, especially the way she'd smiled so warmly and kissed his forehead the last time he'd seen her.

Oh yeah, and Leo. Leo had died. But Leo was alive. That was good. Even if Jason wouldn't see him again.

Another agonizing stab of pain. As the world faded, or as Jason faded from the world, memory mercifully carried him gently away, back to a happier time, sitting on the roof of Cabin One, curled up with the girl he loved beneath a star strewn sky.

A sense of peace stole over him.

Jason exhaled.


End file.
